RED SUN RISING is a pretty good little action thriller which acts as a vehicle for straight-to-video star Don 'The Dragon' Wilson. It was clearly inspired by the Wesley Snipes vehicle RISING SUN and has a touch of class and quality to it that you don't usually see in this genre of 1990s film-making, as evinced by the familiar faces in the supporting cast and more plot and character twists than usual.The plot is familiar but detailed enough to keep you interested. Wilson's partner is killed so he goes off hunting the man responsible and soon finds that he's some kind of superman opponent who takes drugs to make him extra-powerful. There's also a back story about a fight between the Yakuza and a black street gang which gives Wilson ample opportunity to show off his fighting skills.The fights aren't the greatest and easily pale when compared to those from rival Hong Kong cinema, for example, but they're not the worst I've seen. There's too much close-up editing and stock hits when the camera guys should really be taking a step back and letting the fighters do their bit. Alongside an on-form Wilson we get turns from HELLRAISER III: HELL ON EARTH's Terry Farrell, stuck with the horrible part of a racist cop; Michael Ironside on top form as the gruff superior; and a likable Mako doing his mentor bit. Edward Albert's in there too.

Thomas Hoshino (Wilson) is a half American-half Japanese cop with a strong sense of honor. When his partner is killed whilst in Japan, he tracks the baddies responsible all the way to Los Angeles. It turns out the main culprit is no ordinary baddie. Jaho (Lew) is a supremely evil monster with a very special weapon literally at his fingertips - the Death Touch. In order to combat against this supposed Death Touch, Hoshino reaches out to an old associate, Iga (Mako) and he trains him in not just Martial Arts but magic powers. Hoshino also ends up working alongside no-nonsense L.A. cop Karen Ryder (Farrell). Ryder comes into the picture because a gang war is brewing between street gangs the 72nd St. Icemen and the Malitos. Could Jaho have anything to do with the impending gang throwdown? Can it be stopped? Can anything stop...the DEATH TOUCH? Find out today! We believe Red Sun Rising: The Legend Of The Death Touch (if you include that on-screen subtitle) is one of Don The Dragon Wilson's best movies. Could it be a coincidence that when he escaped the clutches of Roger Corman, his best work appears? There have been other movies that revolve around, or at least mention some kind of "Death Touch" (also sometimes called the "Dim Mak") but here it receives what has to be its ultimate cinematic representation. Add some training sequences and an all-star B-movie cast and it's pretty tough to go wrong.James Lew (he gets an "Introducing" credit here although he'd been in plenty of movies before this) puts in a hiss-worthy bad guy performance, with Soon-Tek Oh backing him up. Michael Ironside as Ryder's Captain does pretty much a sit-down role, but it's one of the better ones we can remember. Ken Davitian is on hand as the prerequisite Wacky Taxi Driver, and Stoney Jackson has a pretty small but worthwhile role as Gamal. Edward Albert of Kenderson!!!!!!! fame has a low-key role that perhaps should have been bigger, but that's the problem with these "all-star" movies. Not everyone gets enough time in the sun. But for once, Mako is not the victim of that. His role is meaty and substantial, with plenty of screen time. Don the Dragon is delightfully wooden as always, and it should also be mentioned that Art Camacho has a small role as a Malito. Perhaps stealing the movie was Terry Farrell as Ryder. We weren't familiar with her before, but she's tough, smart and funny in equal measure. Farrell should have done more material like this.Wilson, besides merely starring in the movie, receives the credit "Executive In Charge Of Fight Action". Who else can claim that distinction? Providing his foil is Mako, and when we first see him, although he is the wise sensei, he is wearing a shirt that says "I am the big banana" with a large picture of a banana, with matching banana-print pants! We applaud the filmmakers for not going with the typical clichés. He's more intelligible than usual and he puts in a bright, happy performance. Ryder and Hoshino go through the typical American vs. Japanese "culture clash" that we've seen before but it's usually played for laughs. As for the training sequences, they could have used a pounding, anthemic rock song, but maybe they were taking a different tack this time. And seeing as how this was the mid-90's and Street Fighter and its Ha-Do-Ken was huge, this is finally the movie to see it in. Interestingly enough, the Street Fighter (1994) movie came out the same year.Seeing as how this is a "gang war" movie as well as a "death touch" movie with a mega cast, it really tries to be all things to all people and basically succeeds.Featuring a title song (we always love those) by Angela Carole Brown and Phil Settle, Red Sun Rising is a very good example of what Don The Dragon can do and would be a good starting place for people not familiar with him. It's also a good example of 90's video store action that's worth seeing.

I remember saw this as a kid, and those visuals from the film really attached to my child psychic. I thought that I never see this film again, but I was fortunate, found it on the internet and downloaded it. A mystical low budget crap film about Japanese police man hunting down a Yakuza leader and his personal bodyguard and ninjitsu expert, who is also a dark magic user. The policeman was played by the kickboxing champion Don "the dragon" Willson, which was really fine in this film, he gaved some good fights also. Terry Farrel, who played Don's American partner was also OK, a tough, strong woman with large Cadillac! A supporting characters as Mako (Don's former ninjitsu master) who was really funny in this film, somewhat a comic relief and Michael Ironside (the man with the badass voice). For the end to mention martial arts actor James Lew, who played the main villain (you know him "Best of the Best" (1989), "Lethal Weapon 4" (1997), "Mission for Justice" (1992) and others). Lew played the leading bad guy very differently here, due to his scary looks, I think that he fit just fine for the leading bad guy here, a mystical, dark ninja bodyguard and user of dark ninja magic, and when he use hypnotic powers, his eyes turns blue, maybe I am older now, but, saw the film a few months ago, I found that really scary. Good work for James Lew! Other things as script, story, forget it, it's crappy, no use there. Just turn of your brain and enjoy this dark martial arts film. Love the music too. Watch it...! If you want... :)

Don "The Dragon" Wilson was able to escape the clutches of schlockmeister Roger Corman for a little while and make this movie, which is one of his best. I know that might not seem much of a declaration, considering the poor quality of many Wilson movies, but this one managed to be genuinely entertaining. While a low-budget movie, the production values manage to be slick enough so that no scene looks especially cheap. The martial art scenes, while not up to those from Hong Kong movies, can be considered more realistic, and do manage to be exciting at times. There's even a decent attempt to do some character development! Speaking of the characters and actors, there is some good support from supporting players Ironside and (especially) Mako. The movie could have been given a little trimming (it goes on too long), but overall this is a solid little B movie.